Lee Pro 1000 Questions

t-man · October 10, 2001, 05:02 PM

Hey everybody,

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine loaned me his reloading equipment and gave me a run-down on reloading. His setup is manual (i.e. non progressive).

Well, the past few weeks, I have really enjoyed reloading and I thought I would look into purchasing a press of my own. I like my buddies advice - "Do a thousand rounds by hand just to get the concept, then go and get a progressive press". So this is what I will do.

I started shopping around to get some ideas, and I came across the Lee Pro 1000 Progressive Press for the 9mm Luger (which is primarily what I shoot) for what I can afford.

What do you guys think about this press? Can I also change out the dies and load another caliber (i.e. .40)?

Any help is much appreciated!

t-man

Fred · October 10, 2001, 06:17 PM

Oh boy, did you open a can of worms!

You're going to hear from a lot of folks about buying a Dillon and forgetting the Lee 1000, but it can work for you. I have one I bought about 5 years ago when funds were limited. Paid $117 including powder measure and a set of carbide dies. Spent the difference for powder, bullets, primers, etc. and was up and running with minimal expense. Still using it and have loaded over 30K rounds with it and it's still chugging along.

To answer your question - yes, you can change dies for other calibers. In your case you would be in good luck since the shellplate the Lee uses for 9 is the same for 40. So all you would have to do is get the 40 dies, remove the 9 dies from the turret and away you go. I f you really want to save time, you can buy an extra turret (about $10) and just swap out the turret assembly, dies included. Hope that helps.

bfox · October 10, 2001, 07:37 PM

I have one it took me a little while to get it going right.The priming at first, but if you keep
the primer trough full it works well.
Check out
www.midwayusa they have good prices.
Whatever you get, Good Luck Bill
p.s. Lots of great people here to help with
any problems.

t-man · October 11, 2001, 10:42 AM

bfox,
Yea, actually midway usa was where I priced it out. $129 seems almost too good of a deal!
It really is a cool hobby, isn't it? I felt really acomplished when I had cranked out my first batch of reloads.

There really are a lot of interesting variables; Powder burn time, bullet weight, etc. Now I just need to get to the range and test them before I crank out 1000 of them. Right now, I'm just interested in cranking out target practice ball ammo (nothing for match shooting or anything yet).

Thanks for the much help Fred and Bfox. I'm sure I'll have many more questions as time goes on.

good shooting!
t-man

Steve Smith · October 11, 2001, 12:12 PM

Go ahead and dig a pit for it in your back yard. When you get so mad at it you shoot it, at least you'll have a place to bury it.

bfox · October 11, 2001, 05:09 PM

Some of you guys that trash the press what
did you do with them?I know they are not perfect
but why dont you give the T-man a decent price on it?I would take another also.
Take Care Bill

bullseyekp · October 11, 2001, 05:59 PM

bfox, t-man, and anyone else who is interested,

I purchased a used Pro 1000 from a friend of my father's who decided reloading wasn't for him. I loaded roughly 15k rounds through it in about two years. It is not a Dillon, but if you have the patience and time, it will work, albeit sporadically in my case.

The press currenlty sits in a box in my parents' garage. If you want to pay me $20 for shipping, I'll GLADLY send it to you. The package would include the following:

Press (used)
9mm Die Set (used)
45 ACP Die Set (new)
9mm Feeder Tubes (used)
45 ACP Feeder Tubes (new)
9mm Shellplate Carrier Assembly (used)
45 ACP Shellplate Carrier Assembly (new)
Lee Perfect Powder Measure (like new, tried it once)

You might have to fiddle with it to get it to index properly and actually crank out ammo. However, if you already have one, bfox, the extra shellplate carrier assemblies are worth over $50 alone, not to mention the dies.

t-man, you may want to reconsider the cost and efficiency aspects of single stage versus a progressive. I shoot competitively 2-3 times month and probably send a total of about 250 rounds downrange each week. In my case, I prefer the single stage. To each his own.

t-man · October 11, 2001, 06:13 PM

KP95OKC

I just emailed you!

t-man

Steve Smith · October 11, 2001, 09:07 PM

I sold mine about 2 years ago for $90. Good riddance.

Fred · October 12, 2001, 12:08 AM

Im still fine with my Lee 1000

Steve Smith · October 12, 2001, 09:19 AM

t-man, I would normally say something like this here, "Look at the varied responses to your thread, and search the archives and you'll see that the Lee Slow 1000 is a heavily debated press...that should tell you something. No one every debates whether the Dillon 550B, the RCBS 2000, or the Hornady LNL progressive are god or not." ( I guess I DID say that after all) However, for the price of shipping, you get all that from KP095OKC? That's worth it, even for a piece of crap like the Slow 1000, because you get all those dies! You're getting a deal even if the press sucks. If you get lucky and the press actually works, then you've really got a tremendous deal.

Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work well (usually the priming system is the only thing that consistently sucks), you can sell the press and plates alone on Ebay for $50 or even more.

t-man · October 12, 2001, 10:19 AM

Hey Steve,
thanks for the advice. I think it's pretty nice of KP95OKC to help me out like that. I'll give it a go, and see what happens. I'm a patient person. So I'm willing to hack at it for awhille!

t-man

bfox · October 13, 2001, 06:51 PM

This is Killing me

isn't there a great deal
out there for me

Good Luck and Have Fun T-Man
Bill

t-man · October 14, 2001, 10:30 AM

Yea, I tell you what; I'm very grateful that KP95OKC is doing this. These kinds of deals never fall into my lap this way. Just goes to show the quality of people that the shooting community really is.

Brady and Feinstein would be envious!

t-man

October 10, 2001, 05:02 PM	#1
t-man Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2001 Location: Golden Posts: 132	Lee Pro 1000 Questions Hey everybody, A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine loaned me his reloading equipment and gave me a run-down on reloading. His setup is manual (i.e. non progressive). Well, the past few weeks, I have really enjoyed reloading and I thought I would look into purchasing a press of my own. I like my buddies advice - "Do a thousand rounds by hand just to get the concept, then go and get a progressive press". So this is what I will do. I started shopping around to get some ideas, and I came across the Lee Pro 1000 Progressive Press for the 9mm Luger (which is primarily what I shoot) for what I can afford. What do you guys think about this press? Can I also change out the dies and load another caliber (i.e. .40)? Any help is much appreciated! t-man

October 10, 2001, 06:17 PM	#2
Fred Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 1998 Location: CA Posts: 465	Oh boy, did you open a can of worms! You're going to hear from a lot of folks about buying a Dillon and forgetting the Lee 1000, but it can work for you. I have one I bought about 5 years ago when funds were limited. Paid $117 including powder measure and a set of carbide dies. Spent the difference for powder, bullets, primers, etc. and was up and running with minimal expense. Still using it and have loaded over 30K rounds with it and it's still chugging along. To answer your question - yes, you can change dies for other calibers. In your case you would be in good luck since the shellplate the Lee uses for 9 is the same for 40. So all you would have to do is get the 40 dies, remove the 9 dies from the turret and away you go. I f you really want to save time, you can buy an extra turret (about $10) and just swap out the turret assembly, dies included. Hope that helps. __________________ Regards - AZFred

October 11, 2001, 12:12 PM	#5
Steve Smith Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 1999 Posts: 4,131	Go ahead and dig a pit for it in your back yard. When you get so mad at it you shoot it, at least you'll have a place to bury it. __________________ Favor the X. Steve Smith NRA Life Member

October 11, 2001, 05:59 PM	#7
bullseyekp Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2000 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 118	You want it, you got it!! bfox, t-man, and anyone else who is interested, I purchased a used Pro 1000 from a friend of my father's who decided reloading wasn't for him. I loaded roughly 15k rounds through it in about two years. It is not a Dillon, but if you have the patience and time, it will work, albeit sporadically in my case. The press currenlty sits in a box in my parents' garage. If you want to pay me $20 for shipping, I'll GLADLY send it to you. The package would include the following: Press (used) 9mm Die Set (used) 45 ACP Die Set (new) 9mm Feeder Tubes (used) 45 ACP Feeder Tubes (new) 9mm Shellplate Carrier Assembly (used) 45 ACP Shellplate Carrier Assembly (new) Lee Perfect Powder Measure (like new, tried it once) You might have to fiddle with it to get it to index properly and actually crank out ammo. However, if you already have one, bfox, the extra shellplate carrier assemblies are worth over $50 alone, not to mention the dies. t-man, you may want to reconsider the cost and efficiency aspects of single stage versus a progressive. I shoot competitively 2-3 times month and probably send a total of about 250 rounds downrange each week. In my case, I prefer the single stage. To each his own. __________________ "The great German poet, Goethe, who also lived through a crisis of freedom, said to his generation: 'What you have inherited from your fathers, earn over again for yourselves or it will not be yours'. We inherited freedom. We seem unaware that freedom has to be remade and re-earned in each generation of man." --Adlai Stevenson, "Politics and Morality", Saturday Review, February 7, 1959. Last edited by bullseyekp; October 12, 2001 at 08:04 AM.

October 11, 2001, 09:07 PM	#9
Steve Smith Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 1999 Posts: 4,131	I sold mine about 2 years ago for $90. Good riddance. __________________ Favor the X. Steve Smith NRA Life Member

October 10, 2001, 07:37 PM	#3
bfox Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Pittsburgh (plum)Pa. Posts: 95	I have one it took me a little while to get it going right.The priming at first, but if you keep the primer trough full it works well. Check out www.midwayusa they have good prices. Whatever you get, Good Luck Bill p.s. Lots of great people here to help with any problems.

October 11, 2001, 10:42 AM	#4
t-man Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2001 Location: Golden Posts: 132	bfox, Yea, actually midway usa was where I priced it out. $129 seems almost too good of a deal! It really is a cool hobby, isn't it? I felt really acomplished when I had cranked out my first batch of reloads. There really are a lot of interesting variables; Powder burn time, bullet weight, etc. Now I just need to get to the range and test them before I crank out 1000 of them. Right now, I'm just interested in cranking out target practice ball ammo (nothing for match shooting or anything yet). Thanks for the much help Fred and Bfox. I'm sure I'll have many more questions as time goes on. good shooting! t-man

October 11, 2001, 05:09 PM	#6
bfox Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Pittsburgh (plum)Pa. Posts: 95	Some of you guys that trash the press what did you do with them?I know they are not perfect but why dont you give the T-man a decent price on it?I would take another also. Take Care Bill

October 11, 2001, 06:13 PM	#8
t-man Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2001 Location: Golden Posts: 132	KP95OKC I just emailed you! t-man

October 12, 2001, 12:08 AM	#10
Fred Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 1998 Location: CA Posts: 465	To each their own Im still fine with my Lee 1000 __________________ Regards - AZFred

October 12, 2001, 09:19 AM	#11
Steve Smith Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 1999 Posts: 4,131	t-man, I would normally say something like this here, "Look at the varied responses to your thread, and search the archives and you'll see that the Lee Slow 1000 is a heavily debated press...that should tell you something. No one every debates whether the Dillon 550B, the RCBS 2000, or the Hornady LNL progressive are god or not." ( I guess I DID say that after all) However, for the price of shipping, you get all that from KP095OKC? That's worth it, even for a piece of crap like the Slow 1000, because you get all those dies! You're getting a deal even if the press sucks. If you get lucky and the press actually works, then you've really got a tremendous deal. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work well (usually the priming system is the only thing that consistently sucks), you can sell the press and plates alone on Ebay for $50 or even more. __________________ Favor the X. Steve Smith NRA Life Member

October 12, 2001, 10:19 AM	#12
t-man Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2001 Location: Golden Posts: 132	Hey Steve, thanks for the advice. I think it's pretty nice of KP95OKC to help me out like that. I'll give it a go, and see what happens. I'm a patient person. So I'm willing to hack at it for awhille! t-man

October 13, 2001, 06:51 PM	#13
bfox Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Pittsburgh (plum)Pa. Posts: 95	This is Killing me isn't there a great deal out there for me Good Luck and Have Fun T-Man Bill

October 14, 2001, 10:30 AM	#14
t-man Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2001 Location: Golden Posts: 132	Yea, I tell you what; I'm very grateful that KP95OKC is doing this. These kinds of deals never fall into my lap this way. Just goes to show the quality of people that the shooting community really is. Brady and Feinstein would be envious! t-man